Student Work Program

HideAlice Lloyd is one of the nation’s seven work colleges. Students who attend ALC work for their education. They are the receptionists, the computer technicians, the groundskeepers, the gardeners, the lifeguards, the dorm supervisors, the secretaries, the bookstore salespeople, and more.

Opportunity to Work and Learn

Work has been a central part of the Alice Lloyd College experience since the College’s founding in 1923 when Alice Lloyd developed her own financial aid program that required all students to work. Students worked to provide needed services for the College community and also to provide the opportunity to pay for their education. Today, the Student Work Program is intended to be not only an earning experience, but a learning experience as well. It is designed to teach students the meaning of responsible leadership, self-discipline, and self-reliance. It also enhances the total educational program through the teaching of skills, responsibilities, attitudes, and habits associated with work.

Requiring students to work is truly a distinctive feature of Alice Lloyd College, and so committed is the College to the concept of student labor that successful completion of the work requirement is a graduation requirement.

The program requires every full-time student to work a minimum of 10 hours per week and 160 hours per semester at an on-campus or off-campus job.

These jobs are varied and all students are paid at the prevailing minimum wage rate. All on-campus jobs are necessary to the normal operations of the College, and the off-campus jobs help provide needed services in the surrounding communities.

HideGraduates of work colleges report that their college better prepared them for their current job as compared with their peers.

Some of the areas in which students work are the Hunger Din (campus dining facility), grounds, maintenance, intramurals, the library, Student Services, and community services. They also serve as academic and administrative assistants, public building janitors, dorm janitors, Resident Advisors, and lifeguards.

Students are assigned positions as freshmen, and usually serve their first year in basic services such as campus maintenance, food service in the Hunger Din, and janitorial duties. Before their arrival on campus, new students will complete a form that provides information about their previous work experience, as well as any special skills they may possess. This information is useful in filling positions that may require prior experience. After the freshman year, students may seek positions of their choice by filling out a Job Preference Form and attracting the attention of the supervisor of the area in which they are interested. Providing there is a vacancy and not extenuating circumstances, returning students will be allowed to work at the job of their choice the following school term. Students are encouraged to seek positions that relate to their majors.

The Student Work Program will:

1. Promote a sense of dignity through work.

2. Promote a sense of service to others.

3. Enrich the educational program through experiential learning opportunities.

4. Provide students with monetary means to help finance their educational expenses and help gain a sense of accomplishment.

5. Enhance students’ career opportunities.

Job descriptions for all positions are available in the Student Work Office.

Operation of the Student Work Program

The Program is supervised by the Director of the Student Work Program with the help of Student Work Supervisors who are in charge of the 14 different departments. Together they are responsible for assigning, scheduling, and evaluating student work, the weekly recording of hours, and the assessment of penalties for work rule violations.

A student’s job will be determined prior to registration week. Work begins the first day of classes. However, some assignments will begin on Monday of registration week; in such cases, those involved will be notified. Jobs are assigned on the basis of class schedule (when a student is free to work), the student’s preference and skills (a questionnaire helps determine skills and experience), departmental demands, and the availability of the various jobs remaining after the upperclassmen are given their jobs.

No student or group of students is exempt from any position in the Student Work Program at Alice Lloyd College. However, every effort will be made to place students in positions that enable them to fulfill their Student Work Program obligation to the College. Wherever possible, the College tries to provide experiences that help students to qualify for careers after the completion of their education. Please refer to the Student Work Program Handbook for rules and regulations.

Work Assignments

HideLearning how to be an effective, upstanding member of society and possessing work experience employers look for are probably the biggest assets that ALC graduates possess.

The Student Work Program is divided into 14 departments that perform the following functions:

Work assignments involve secretarial and other office assistance, Teacher’s Assistants, tutoring, and special service work such as “Christmas Pretties.” (**Teacher Education majors may be able to serve as teachers’ aides at their assigned school during their student teaching semester. Visit here for more information and scroll down to “Student Work Guidelines for Student Teachers.”)

These students contact prospective students, discuss the ALC philosophy, and encourage students to enroll. They also conduct campus tours and aid the Admissions staff with other duties in the Office of Admissions.

Students assigned to WWJD-FM perform broadcast-related work, which includes calling sporting events, interviewing athletes and coaches, recording radio spots, and uploading musical playlists. These student workers are under the supervision of the radio manager and the direction of the Director of Marketing and Communications. It is their duty to help the station run smoothly. Other students will aid the Director of Marketing and Communications and the ALC Webmaster with writing tasks, photography, website maintenance, information gathering, Appalachia Day Homecoming duties, etc. All students at the radio station/Eagle’s Nest will contribute to the upkeep of the building.

Under the direction of ALC’s Assistant Professor of Speech and Theare, the mission of ALC’s Caudill Players is to bring an educational theatre experience to area schools as an arm of the ALC Admissions Office. The troupe presents plays as community outreach from the college to organizations in the surrounding area. The Caudill Players offer these plays free as a service. The ALC Alfred and Shirley Wampler Caudill Players began in the spring of 2009. Dr. Don Caudill chose to honor his parents through an ongoing and endowed gift to ALC by way of sponsoring the Eagle Theatre program, and specifically, this theatre touring troupe. The plays chosen are meant to highlight Appalachian culture, the rich heritage of William Shakespeare, and to explore significant and well known playwrights of the United States.

Responsibilities involve the cleaning of the gymnasium and the Grady Nutt Athletic Center, as well as the preparation of facilities for basketball games and special events, including the regulation collegiate swimming pool.

Students assigned to these areas of the Davis Student Center are expected to aid students with the use of equipment and to make sure that all visitors to these areas conduct themselves responsibly and in a safe, respectable manner. The workers will also contribute to the general upkeep of the weight room and student lounge.

In addition, a work award is given for each of the following categories: Outstanding Student Worker of the Year, Outstanding Supervisor of the Year, and Senior Work Award. The Senior Work Award is based on the performance of a student worker’s entire time at Alice Lloyd College.

The Student Work Olympics, a series of fun games among competing work groups, begins immediately following the Student Work Awards Convocation. At the end of the day, scores for each event are tallied and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams are determined. These teams are recognized at the evening meal (generally a picnic when the weather permits). The first place team is given an award, which is usually a pizza party for all team members that participated in the Olympics. This event is organized with the help of the Student Work Committee, Student Work Supervisors and assistants, the Director of the Student Work Program, the administrative assistants, custodians, and many other volunteers.

Questions? Please contact:

Shonda Hall, Assistant to the Director of the Student Work ProgramPhone: (606) 368-6063E-mail: shondahall@alc.edu